Surviving a Broken Arm

Believe me, I do not want to do this again, but in case I do, here are some pointers. I’m not medical – go somewhere else for proper medical advice.

Colle’s is the common break. In general Colle’s means gas, and Smith’s means operation. Trust me to get Smith’s – and I did the gas as well just to add more trauma. They told me I had a distal fracture of the radius. On top of that it was unstable, so I needed plate and pin – actually something that looks like an insect with all its feet at the front.

Swelling

The plaster cast always seems to be too tight. The key thing is to get rid of the swelling. If it swells up good, it can hurt much more than the original break ever hurt.

• Hand up – they say it needs to be heart height, but much better to get it above your head.
• Move it – they don’t tell you, but wiggling whatever is left to move does help.
• Ice – I’ve been told – put ice in your armpit. Apparently it really helps.

There is life after the plaster cast. Move to a brace as soon as possible. It is so much more comfortable.

Pillow

Get a pillow – take it everywhere you go

• Sitting – lay it out comfortably but high enough to keep the swelling down
• Sleeping – the pillow rules, arrange your body to keep your arm comfortable
• Car or bus – lay it on your lap, reduces the vibrations

Movement

It is natural to try and protect it. Anything they don’t want you to move – you will not be able to move. Don’t be scared to use what you have. I never moved my fingers enough, and I’m paying for it now.

Do it carefully, and avoid pain as much as possible, but you need to flex and extend often, and push as far as you can. Otherwise you’ll lose it.

When my cast came off, my arm was terribly atrophied because I had not used it enough. Do your tai chi, stretch, anything. Don’t go into pain, and use your other arm to help if it is too heavy. But you’ve got to move all available moving parts.

They are supposed to expose your fingers from your knuckles so that you have free movement. My cast was too high and could only bend the middle joint. The result was – when then pot came off – I could not bend my fingers properly. Now – 6 weeks – I still can’t make a proper fist. I could have pushed further though. I was in so much pain with the swelling that I did not do enough.

Pot Sock

Yes your arm gets horribly scaly – it’s normal. It will go.

Scarring

If you are unfortunate enough to have an operation, you will end up with long scar up your wrist. As soon as you are able, start gently massaging it. You need to break down the scarring else it will be tight and restrict movement, or at least it will pull and be uncomfortable.

Origami

It was not possible with the plaster cast on. But as soon as I moved to the brace, my fingers were free enough to move. It is impossible to do origami with one hand. It really does push you, with a purpose, so it’s more motivating than the exercises.

To start it was tough. Aim low and work your way up. Stop when it aches.

A week after starting origami, I could feel the difference. The range of movement was vastly better, and my skinny forearm was looking more healthy.

Also it is cheap and rewarding.

Origami Projects

• Of course my first 3 projects were snowmen, but the last one was so hard, I moved on to other objects
• If you’re approaching Xmas, there are loads of really attractive Xmas decorations on YouTube
• Ninja stars and such like often have moving parts, and are very cool. Fun for 5 minutes, but we’re geeks – 5 minutes is sufficient reward
• A ball – look for an easy one. This is not a starting project, but is cool
• Paper plates – useful for putting snacks on, or stuff. Might not be so good for wet food
• Egg cups – that’s my next project. Probably single use, so I’ll make a set – or probably half a dozen different ones so I don’t get bored.

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